Search found 723 matches

by golfCaddy
Thu Nov 29, 2018 6:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Guy's Western US Ski Trip - suggestions?
Replies: 44
Views: 3664

Re: Guy's Western US Ski Trip - suggestions?

- Solid shot of some powder days during Feb.
Powder is not guaranteed anywhere, and certainly not before the season starts. I've come to the conclusion that if you want powder, you need to do one of the following:

1) go heli or cat skiing
2) go back-country skiing out of bounds
3) be flexible enough in your plans you can chase the storms
by golfCaddy
Mon Nov 26, 2018 7:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Federal Job Offer - Should I take it?
Replies: 58
Views: 5128

Re: Federal Job Offer - Should I take it?

That's never going to happen. One problem is it costs money to pay entry level employees more. The second problem is for the most part, federal employee salaries are statutorily capped at $164,200. If you could pay entry-level employees more, then bringing them in at too high of a level creates more salary compression than is healthy in the organization. People in MD complain about the low salaries and the cost of living here, so yeah CA would be worse. And the feds, especially the IC agencies are having a horrible time keeping sharp technical folks. $164k is nothing for good techies. There is a cost of living adjustment to the pay scale. 29% for MD/DC and about 40% for SF. And those adjustments aren’t close to reality. https://www.opm.gov...
by golfCaddy
Mon Nov 26, 2018 7:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I'm so CHEAP! Don't think it is healthy.
Replies: 36
Views: 7644

Re: I'm so CHEAP! Don't think it is healthy.

I worry a lot because our overhead could possibly double within the next few months where we will not be able to take advantage of this big savings now. My career status is also "up in the air". I work a day job + an accounting internship. I graduate with an accounting degree in about a year (2nd bachelors due to change in field, which is a whole another story) and the uncertainly is very stressful. I guess I worry because I feel as though our retirement savings is below where I want it to be and all I have in mind is to catch up, which ultimately makes me very CHEAP! Your issue is not being cheap. Your issue is anxiety about your current and future income producing ability so you are trying to control the one thing you can and t...
by golfCaddy
Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:45 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Do you need to invest mostly in stocks to get rich?
Replies: 178
Views: 20231

Re: Do you need to invest mostly in stocks to get rich?

To get rich, you generally need to fall into one of three categories

1) inherit it or marry into it
2) have a high household income
3) either be very lucky or very smart in your investments, like the people who bough Google at IPO and never sold.
by golfCaddy
Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Federal Job Offer - Should I take it?
Replies: 58
Views: 5128

Re: Federal Job Offer - Should I take it?

femmefire wrote: Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:37 pm Why not take the advice of a previous poster and use your money saved from a LCOL area to take trips to SF or better yet, around the world.
At the OP's current income level and with two kids, they can't afford to take trips to SF or around the world.
by golfCaddy
Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Federal Job Offer - Should I take it?
Replies: 58
Views: 5128

Re: Federal Job Offer - Should I take it?

quantAndHold wrote: Mon Nov 26, 2018 4:58 pm Man, the feds need to step up their pay if they ever want to hire anyone in the Bay Area. That’s just not enough.
That's never going to happen. One problem is it costs money to pay entry level employees more. The second problem is for the most part, federal employee salaries are statutorily capped at $164,200. If you could pay entry-level employees more, then bringing them in at too high of a level creates more salary compression than is healthy in the organization.
by golfCaddy
Wed Nov 07, 2018 10:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: $300K in assets; pls help w/ auto insurance coverage
Replies: 3
Views: 864

Re: $300K in assets; pls help w/ auto insurance coverage

Search and you can find many threads on umbrella insurance.
by golfCaddy
Wed Nov 07, 2018 7:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Larry Swedroe: Understanding Risk & Return
Replies: 19
Views: 2035

Re: Larry Swedroe: Understanding Risk & Return

Hi Lauretta, I’m not that familiar with Taleb. My understanding is that he promotes a huge allocation to the safest investments and a small allocation to the highest risk/highest expected return : barbell approach. Makes sense that his high risk investments might have the lottery like positive skew. I think though, that it is important to look at the portfolio as a whole and how components mix. Pretty sure Taleb and Larry in big agreement here. Although Taleb’s individual risky investments might have big positive skew, his big allocation to the safest low risk treasury bills within the portfolio improves the portfolio behavior tremendously. With regard to the investments with high kurtosis and negative skew, I think the important point is ...
by golfCaddy
Tue Nov 06, 2018 7:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Need ideas for unusual gifts for preteen boy
Replies: 27
Views: 19286

Re: Need ideas for unusual gifts for preteen boy

Depending on your budget/time, I would consider experiences: have him try out something he has never done before.
by golfCaddy
Tue Nov 06, 2018 7:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Teaching kids there is an ample amount of money
Replies: 108
Views: 10447

Re: Teaching kids there is an ample amount of money

Not high net worth, but remember kids aren't stupid. They notice all kinds of clues as to family income and wealth: from what house people live in, from the cars people drive, to the name brand clothing, to who vacations in Europe and who has never been on an airplane, your profession, and who has the latest MacBook Pro and iPhone. Kids can determine a lot about your ballpark family income/wealth without seeing your W2 or Vanguard statements.
by golfCaddy
Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?
Replies: 185
Views: 17455

Re: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?

I think a lot of the anti-LCOL arguments here are actually straw man arguments against VLCOL, i.e. remote rural areas, which have their own plusses and minuses. I don't think that's the type of area that *most* people are considering when they're thinking about building wealth in a LCOL area. The Dallas area, as an example, is the 4th largest metropolitan area in the country. It has plenty of well paid jobs, quality restaurants, top notch medical facilities, top quality sports facilities, and is solidly LCOL -- way less than half of the COL of Manhattan according to the link above. I think you're the one who is moving the goal post. There's a big difference between the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro, population 7 million, and the 300k-5...
by golfCaddy
Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Evaluating Fed employment vs. contracting
Replies: 12
Views: 1037

Re: Evaluating Fed employment vs. contracting

Until you have a job offer in hand, this is all hypothetical. In most of the government, it is very difficult to get a GS-15 as an outsider. You would be jumping ahead of a lot of the career civil servants. As for advantages to the government, the biggest benefit I see at your age is being able to continue health coverage after retirement but before you are eligible for Medicare.
by golfCaddy
Sat Nov 03, 2018 10:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?
Replies: 185
Views: 17455

Re: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?

Certainly agree that sweeping generalizations aren’t very useful in a discussion like this. But unfortunately that seems to be what the internet tends to encourage, no? Even the OP admited his question was impossible to answer, yet on and on we go. Assuming the OP has the skills to get a high paying career, there is an objective answer, from the standpoint of being able to FIRE as soon as possible. Go to where the high paying jobs are, which for tech might be NYC, SV, Seattle, and Boston, and keep your housing costs under control, ex. commute instead of living in Manhattan, or get roommates, or if you have a SO, split the cost of a 1bdr with them. Then, once you get close to hitting your number, you can move to Kansas City and buy your 500...
by golfCaddy
Sat Nov 03, 2018 4:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How much does a car need to be driven?
Replies: 43
Views: 4284

Re: How much does a car need to be driven?

I've had similar problems and I don't think anything is wrong with your car. All new cars have a ton of electronics, which run all the time, creating a slow drain on the battery. From my experience, you can go about a week without driving a vehicle. Any longer than that and you should disconnect the battery terminals. You don't have to drive the vehicle, but you should run the engine at least once a week to recharge the battery.
by golfCaddy
Fri Nov 02, 2018 6:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?
Replies: 185
Views: 17455

Re: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?

HomerJ wrote: Fri Nov 02, 2018 5:05 pm Anyway, I'll concede all your other points. NYC is the most amazing place on Earth, and well-worth every penny.

:) :)
You've changed my mind. Everyone needs a 5000sqft home, bare minimum.
by golfCaddy
Fri Nov 02, 2018 3:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?
Replies: 185
Views: 17455

Re: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?

There's no such thing as apples to apples. There is nowhere in Kansas with the nightlife, concerts, professional sports teams, restaurants, art, and museums to be found in the NYC area. LOL. You've obviously never been to Kansas City. You have MORE of all those things, but how much better is 24,000 restaurants over 5,000 restaurants? It's not only the quantity of restaurants, but the quality. If a couple living in Kansas City wants to go to a Michelin star restaurant, you need to buy two round trip tickets to a major city, possibly pay baggage fees, pay for a hotel, probably for two nights, and uber/lyft/taxi to/from the airport at both places. That could easily be $1800, not including the cost of the meal. How many football or baseball te...
by golfCaddy
Thu Nov 01, 2018 9:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?
Replies: 185
Views: 17455

Re: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?

HomerJ wrote: Wed Oct 31, 2018 11:09 pm
golfCaddy wrote: Wed Oct 31, 2018 6:53 pmIf he or she gets an apartment in Manhattan for $4k/month, rent is only 36% of net income.
Oh, I thought we were comparing apples to apples.
There's no such thing as apples to apples. There is nowhere in Kansas with the nightlife, concerts, professional sports teams, restaurants, art, and museums to be found in the NYC area.
by golfCaddy
Thu Nov 01, 2018 9:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?
Replies: 185
Views: 17455

Re: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?

That's a legitimate point. Okay, if I'm focusing solely on saving the most, I'll rent a $700/month apartment in a LCOL area. So now I'm spending $8400 a year on rent, and the HCOL guy is spending $48,000. He'll have to make at least $40,000 more ($60,000 more when you consider taxes), to save more money than me each year. So someone making $120k in a LCOL area living in a small apartment would have to find a job making OVER $180,000 in a HCOL area before it would be financially advantageous (looking at JUST rent). But that's certainly possible and reasonable. So I stand corrected. That's closer to a fair comparison, but still not right. The HCOL guy doesn't have to spend $48k/year in rent. He can get an apartment in Brooklyn with roommates...
by golfCaddy
Wed Oct 31, 2018 6:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?
Replies: 185
Views: 17455

Re: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?

Its not necessarily true. Someone who is frugal, saving 70% of their salary could be a decamillionaire while working in LOCL area and then decide to move to HCOL. What matters more is what % of your income you can save. This is WRONG!! If person A makes $300,000 a year and saves 20% of their salary and lives in HCOL, Person B makes 30K a year, and saves 30% of their salary and lives in LCOL, person A is saving/investing $60K per year, plus probably using the rest of their salary to gain home equity, Person B is sayvin/investing $9K per year, while probably gaining some but not as much home equity as person A. So person A is saving a LOWER % of their Salary, but saving/investing much more money, plus probably building fast and more home equ...
by golfCaddy
Wed Oct 31, 2018 3:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?
Replies: 185
Views: 17455

Re: Is it more advantageous to live in HCOL or LCOL area in terms of financial independence?

It’s more important to live where your income is greater than your expenses. Depending on your job, that might be HCOL or LCOL. Many LCOL areas are LCOL because they don’t have many high paying jobs. And a HCOL location isn’t going to help you much if you don’t have the right skills to get a high paying job there. More important for your relative was getting lucky in the California housing market. Something that is not a given. +1000000 As a federal government employee, moving from a LCOL area to NYC might give me a 10% raise. I'm obviously better off staying in the LCOL area. If I had the skills to get hired at a tech company in SV or in finance in NYC, I would be crazy to stay where I am. The higher income would more than offset the incr...
by golfCaddy
Tue Oct 30, 2018 10:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Canada Goose Jacket
Replies: 57
Views: 6009

Re: Canada Goose Jacket

jabberwockOG wrote: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:03 pm Typical heavily branded overpriced status symbol. You can get same or actually better high quality winter parka from Mountain Hardware, Marmot, or North Face for half the price.
Yes and No. The top end of Canadian Goose Down, with their TEI5 rating for -22F and below, truly is best in class. The top end of Mountain Hardware and North Face will be $800 for a parka, so there may not be that much cost savings with those other brands. Now, you could argue getting a jacket rated to -22F is overkill and a status symbol for most of the population, and I would agree with you on that.
by golfCaddy
Fri Oct 26, 2018 6:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Teach children to save 10% from day one...?
Replies: 31
Views: 2864

Re: Teach children to save 10% from day one...?

Thank you for all the insightful responses. There's a lot we can take away from this advice. One thing that seems to be a common theme here is "letting kids be kids" when they are young or letting them make their own choices with their money. I feel that teaching kids to automatically save money can be the same as teaching them how to share, cooperate, pick up their toys or say please and thank you. My four year old is capable of having some level of understanding over all of the above. She is just hitting the stage of wanting to buy things and observing us paying for items. You've all certainly left me with different angles to consider. Thank you for your time! I don't think any four year old understands what it means to live on...
by golfCaddy
Thu Oct 25, 2018 10:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Making a substantial gift to a college
Replies: 27
Views: 2590

Re: Making a substantial gift to a college

I think it's unethical to attempt to buy your kid's admissions slot, but if you want to play that game, read up on the Harvard lawsuit.
by golfCaddy
Thu Oct 25, 2018 10:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Teach children to save 10% from day one...?
Replies: 31
Views: 2864

Re: Teach children to save 10% from day one...?

I think the savings lessons can wait until the kids are at least teenagers. You see parents who are proud their kids save most of their money. The parents and relatives then buy the kids cars, iPhone Xs, name brand clothing, and pay their entertainment expenses. It's easy to save 10% or 25% when someone else is paying for everything you need and almost everything you could want. Focusing a savings percentage misses the bigger picture. When you are an adult, and mom and dad no longer pay all your bills, you can achieve a high savings rate either through a) a high income or b) being frugal. Instead of teaching your kids to save 10% of their lemonade stand money or whatever, re-frame the problem as how to teach them to live a frugal lifestyle ...
by golfCaddy
Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Is EMH a tautology?
Replies: 108
Views: 7045

Re: Is EMH a tautology?

The EMH is testable in one specific sense. If investing was a game that required individualized skill, like Tom Brady is a great quarterback, then we would expect to see a lot of persistence in investing out-performance. The best mutual fund managers over the past 10 years will be the best mutual fund managers in the next 10 years. In terms of public US mutual funds, the evidence of persistence for fund manager performance is close to zero. In that regard, the EMH holds up well. But if the market is making big moves in the absence of 'big' new information, which is precisely what happened over the last two weeks, the EMH doesn't account for that well, if at all. The practical question is whether it's possible to time the market to get high...
by golfCaddy
Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Gift for two of four grandchildren
Replies: 18
Views: 2645

Re: Gift for two of four grandchildren

One unintended consequence could be reduced eligibility for financial aid, obviously depending on everyone's financial situation.
by golfCaddy
Tue Oct 16, 2018 8:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Is EMH a tautology?
Replies: 108
Views: 7045

Re: Is EMH a tautology?

The EMH is testable in one specific sense. If investing was a game that required individualized skill, like Tom Brady is a great quarterback, then we would expect to see a lot of persistence in investing out-performance. The best mutual fund managers over the past 10 years will be the best mutual fund managers in the next 10 years. In terms of public US mutual funds, the evidence of persistence for fund manager performance is close to zero.
by golfCaddy
Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:23 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Larry Swedroe: Why Emerging Markets Matter
Replies: 82
Views: 11327

Re: Larry Swedroe: Why Emerging Markets Matter

Larry is cherry picking the data. Dimson-Marsh data shows emerging markets under-performed developed over the long run.
by golfCaddy
Sun Oct 07, 2018 9:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Level of Auto Insurance to carry
Replies: 35
Views: 2358

Re: Level of Auto Insurance to carry

willthrill81 wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 7:12 pm
But even in that instance, it's still costing you to keep the insurance.
Sure, as long as you don't fool yourself into thinking you are saving $1000/year, when you are actually saving $20/year. Then, you have to keep these decisions in perspective. $20 is less than a lot of families spend in one week at Starbucks.
by golfCaddy
Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Level of Auto Insurance to carry
Replies: 35
Views: 2358

Re: Level of Auto Insurance to carry

Insurance should only be used for risks that would be financially detrimental to you if they occurred. I disagree somewhat. You have to look at loss ratios or how fairly the insurance is priced. Collision/Comprehensive have razor thin profit margins for insurance companies. If you have a $20k+ car, there's a reasonable argument to have full coverage even when you could afford to replace it with cash. The only area where insurance companies truly price gouge consumers is umbrella insurance. You're suggesting that we can do a better job of assessing the risk/reward situation than trained actuaries with complete data? No, on the contrary, I'm suggesting you listen to what the actuaries tell us. If you spend, a $1000/year on collision/comprehe...
by golfCaddy
Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Level of Auto Insurance to carry
Replies: 35
Views: 2358

Re: Level of Auto Insurance to carry

willthrill81 wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 3:24 pm Insurance should only be used for risks that would be financially detrimental to you if they occurred.
I disagree somewhat. You have to look at loss ratios or how fairly the insurance is priced. Collision/Comprehensive have razor thin profit margins for insurance companies. If you have a $20k+ car, there's a reasonable argument to have full coverage even when you could afford to replace it with cash. The only area where insurance companies truly price gouge consumers is umbrella insurance.
by golfCaddy
Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 20 countries where 200K in retirement savings will last you decades
Replies: 235
Views: 38248

Re: 20 countries where 200K in retirement savings will last you decades

Starfish wrote: Sat Oct 06, 2018 3:39 pm For example you can't possible mention the health care as a big advantage when one of the main subjects on this forum (of people with much higher income that average) is the price and availability of health care in retirement. Not to mention metrics like efficiency per $ which are not that great either.
After 65, you can be eligible for Medicare or under 65, if you're disabled. I would take Medicare over the health care systems on all the countries on the list. If you retire before 65 and aren't disabled and can't be on a still working spouse's plan, then it is more complicated.
by golfCaddy
Wed Sep 19, 2018 10:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can Sneakers go with Business Casual?
Replies: 172
Views: 15561

Re: Can Sneakers go with Business Casual?

The answer is very industry-specific, but I have seen a lot of colleagues wear nice leather sneakers (eccos) or dark-colored Allbirds (ubiquitous in Silicon Valley) on business casual days. Not anymore. https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/14/17792298/silicon-valley-stylist-fashion-tech Because one "stylist" says so? There is no right or wrong answer, it completely depends on the norms of the distinct environment that you are in. This is another one of those threads that are pointless, filled with posters stating their anecdotes as if they are generalizable fact (I am just as guilty of this as the next person). Only thing I can see with any degree of certainty is that the shoes in the OP probably aren't going to fly in most "...
by golfCaddy
Tue Sep 18, 2018 10:31 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Is there such thing as saving TOO much?
Replies: 78
Views: 8918

Re: Is there such thing as saving TOO much?

In most cases, there is no such thing as saving too much, but there are a few exceptions. There's some people who get their self-worth from the number of zeros in their bank account, instead of viewing money as a means to an end. Then, there are the financial version of Doomsday Preppers, worrying about if the US becomes the next Venezuela. You see that a lot with goldbugs. You see milder forms of that here, "Can I retire on $10M", assuming such posts aren't humble-brags.
by golfCaddy
Tue Sep 18, 2018 7:45 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How real is cyber risk?
Replies: 176
Views: 16827

Re: How real is cyber risk?

Cyber risk is real: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/03/magazine/money-issue-bangladesh-billion-dollar-bank-heist.html, but it's nothing something I worry about much. If Vanguard or your bank account was hacked, I would expect you to eventually be made whole by the financial institutions. You should not expect to be made whole without some due diligence on your part. For personal bank accounts and credit cards, there are federal regulations that require reimbursement if you report the fraud in a timely manner. I don't recall what timely means but I think it's at least 30 days after your bank statement is available. For Vanguard and other brokerage and mutual fund companies there is no federal regulation if you are hacked. Some f...
by golfCaddy
Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:04 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 38% pay cut for dream job?
Replies: 61
Views: 6939

Re: 38% pay cut for dream job?

It sounds like you have your mind made up, but think hard about what you're choosing for your kids. Air pollution is a terrible problem in China and India. Do you want your kids to develop asthma? Antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a global problem, but it's far worse in India. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/asia/study-links-polluted-air-in-china-to-1-6-million-deaths-a-year.html?mtrref=www.google.com https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/world/asia/indias-air-pollution-rivals-china-as-worlds-deadliest.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=01E8A8962E2FE5922CB2578EE55F13D6&gwt=pay https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/health/who-bacteria-pathogens-antibiotic-resistant-superbugs.html https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/asia/superbugs-...
by golfCaddy
Sat Sep 15, 2018 11:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Boglehead is anti-entrepreneur?
Replies: 79
Views: 8425

Re: The Boglehead is anti-entrepreneur?

Ron Scott wrote: Sat Sep 15, 2018 5:37 am I agree with him to some extent that BHs don’t like the entrepreneurial way of life, or maybe just ignore it as someone else’s cross to bear. BHs play Steady Eddie to the entrepreneur’s Fool?

Would you advise a young person in their 20s or 30s, inclined to the entrepreneurial life, to go for it or stick to the Steady Eddie approach, and why?
Although no one's mind is going to change, I believe there's a tremendous amount of luck in entrepreneurship. So my advice would be to cash out your equity after you won the game. If you have a 30% stake in a $30M company, sell out and FIRE.
by golfCaddy
Sat Sep 15, 2018 9:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 38% pay cut for dream job?
Replies: 61
Views: 6939

Re: 38% pay cut for dream job?

You are crazy to take a 38% pay cut, more so with kids on the way. You might think you'll get sent to Paris or some cushy assignment. It's more likely you get sent to some **** country, with bad air quality, poor sanitation, unsafe water, and kidnapping and terrorism risks. If you get sent to a country, like Saudi Arabia, they have very different ideas on gender roles than we do.
by golfCaddy
Sat Sep 15, 2018 9:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Boglehead is anti-entrepreneur?
Replies: 79
Views: 8425

Re: The Boglehead is anti-entrepreneur?

DH0 wrote: Sat Sep 15, 2018 9:01 pm There's no reason why an entrepreneur can't diversify - if you have an attractive business you will be able to raise money from investors rather than concentrating all of your assets in one venture. Facebook raised plenty of money and I've heard Zuck took enough cards off the table in the first few years to make sure that he would never go hungry.
Zuckerberg has 98% of his wealth in FB. If you believe having 98% of your investments in a single stock qualifies as diversified, I don't think you understand what the term means.
by golfCaddy
Sat Sep 15, 2018 8:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Boglehead is anti-entrepreneur?
Replies: 79
Views: 8425

Re: The Boglehead is anti-entrepreneur?

randomguy wrote: Sat Sep 15, 2018 5:42 pm For extreme examples about guys like Zuckerberg or Bezos. Would you say they aren't entrepreneurs because they didn't plough all their money into their company but instead diversified along the way (i.e. all those private placements where he sold stock).
Zuckerberg isn't remotely diversified. Even today, something like 98% of his net worth is tied up in FB. Pre-IPO, I'm betting it was close to 100%.
by golfCaddy
Sat Sep 15, 2018 8:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Boglehead is anti-entrepreneur?
Replies: 79
Views: 8425

Re: The Boglehead is anti-entrepreneur?

Bogleheads believe at their core in diversification, which is at odds with a certain type of entrepreneurship. One can imagine if a younger Zuckerberg posted on bogleheads, his VCs offered to buy out his 50% stake in a then $100M company and 100% of his assets were in the startup, bogleheads would be screaming at him to sell and diversify. A few might tell him to see if he could keep 5% of his net worth in the company as fun money.
by golfCaddy
Fri Sep 14, 2018 9:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How real is cyber risk?
Replies: 176
Views: 16827

Re: How real is cyber risk?

I think Vanguard would be responsible for that. I said "if you are hacked" and I meant you not Vanguard. I don't think that is the most likely scenario. All the cases I know of involved hacks of individual investors or seemed to involve hacks of individual investors. Never heard of a hack of a brokerage firm's password file. For the types of hacks you're talking about, most of the advice in this thread is useless. If someone pwns your phone, it doesn't matter that you use two-factor authentication or strong passwords. They have access to your password because you type it on your phone and they have access to the SMS text codes which get sent to your phone. 2FA and strong passwords are designed to protect you against dictionary at...
by golfCaddy
Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How real is cyber risk?
Replies: 176
Views: 16827

Re: How real is cyber risk?

Cyber risk is real: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/03/magazine/money-issue-bangladesh-billion-dollar-bank-heist.html, but it's nothing something I worry about much. If Vanguard or your bank account was hacked, I would expect you to eventually be made whole by the financial institutions. You should not expect to be made whole without some due diligence on your part. For personal bank accounts and credit cards, there are federal regulations that require reimbursement if you report the fraud in a timely manner. I don't recall what timely means but I think it's at least 30 days after your bank statement is available. For Vanguard and other brokerage and mutual fund companies there is no federal regulation if you are hacked. Some f...
by golfCaddy
Fri Sep 14, 2018 4:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How real is cyber risk?
Replies: 176
Views: 16827

Re: How real is cyber risk?

Cyber risk is real: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/201 ... heist.html, but it's nothing something I worry about much. If Vanguard or your bank account was hacked, I would expect you to eventually be made whole by the financial institutions.
by golfCaddy
Thu Sep 13, 2018 11:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Benefits/longevity of more expensive ($300+) mens dress shoes?
Replies: 75
Views: 13257

Re: Benefits/longevity of more expensive ($300+) mens dress shoes?

What a timely topic. I have been so frustrated with my shoes. I bought 3 pairs of identical black shoes for $130 each last year for a new job. My plan was to rotate them daily so they’d last longer. I got wooden cedar inserts too. Now two of the pairs have holes worn through the leather soles, one straight through. Re-soling costs $100 accordingly to the quotes I’ve gotten here in New York- might as well just get a new pair. If it were up to me I’d wear sneakers all day, but I am in a job that requires good looking shoes so I begrudgingly adhere to it. I also walk a lot in my commute so I am hard on shoes. I’ve thought about upgrading to $300+ shoes but I’ve hesitated given how rough I seem to be on the $130 ones. Do you walk in rain, slus...
by golfCaddy
Thu Sep 13, 2018 8:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Benefits/longevity of more expensive ($300+) mens dress shoes?
Replies: 75
Views: 13257

Re: Benefits/longevity of more expensive ($300+) mens dress shoes?

What a timely topic. I have been so frustrated with my shoes. I bought 3 pairs of identical black shoes for $130 each last year for a new job. My plan was to rotate them daily so they’d last longer. I got wooden cedar inserts too. Now two of the pairs have holes worn through the leather soles, one straight through. Re-soling costs $100 accordingly to the quotes I’ve gotten here in New York- might as well just get a new pair. If it were up to me I’d wear sneakers all day, but I am in a job that requires good looking shoes so I begrudgingly adhere to it. I also walk a lot in my commute so I am hard on shoes. I’ve thought about upgrading to $300+ shoes but I’ve hesitated given how rough I seem to be on the $130 ones. Do you walk in rain, slus...
by golfCaddy
Thu Sep 13, 2018 7:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Picking a Charity
Replies: 69
Views: 4193

Re: Picking a Charity

I like to give to medical research. It can be difficult to assess the impact of such charities.
by golfCaddy
Thu Sep 13, 2018 5:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Benefits/longevity of more expensive ($300+) mens dress shoes?
Replies: 75
Views: 13257

Re: Benefits/longevity of more expensive ($300+) mens dress shoes?

Allen Edmonds are good quality, but the they have the typical clunky american design. You've got to go British when buying dress shoes... Church Loakes Grenson Cheaney Barker And yes, in general, you get what you pay for. Obviously on a site like this you'll find people trying to convince you that a $75 pair of shoes will last just as long and look just as good, but it's nonsense. Just look around your average office to see that most Men have zero idea when it comes to shoes. A high quality pair of shoes will run $250+, but they can last a lifetime if looked after correctly. Never go cheap on shoes. I won't claim a cheap pair of shoes looks just as good, but there's no way buying expensive shoes saves money. Some of those brands are $600/p...
by golfCaddy
Mon Sep 10, 2018 6:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can Sneakers go with Business Casual?
Replies: 172
Views: 15561

Re: Can Sneakers go with Business Casual?

I'm just wondering something out of curiosity. I don't have a claim on this one way or another because I don't know, I just know that sneakers are informal, whereas cap-toe oxfords are formal. I have no clue whether chucks or vans are on same level as running shoes, but I do see people wear them at the gym, which is why I asked. So I'm wondering this: why would chuk/van be considered more formal than running shoes (or not)? I mean who or what determines this? Obviously there isn't a committee that determines this, so maybe it's that if more and more people wear them as part of business attire that a shoe over time comes to be seen as formal? While there is some variation in business casual, this says "Never wear flip-flops or sneakers...
by golfCaddy
Sun Sep 09, 2018 10:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can Sneakers go with Business Casual?
Replies: 172
Views: 15561

Re: Can Sneakers go with Business Casual?

get_g0ing wrote: Sun Sep 09, 2018 9:44 pm So I'm wondering this: why would chuk/van be considered more formal than sneakers (or not)?
Chucks are sneakers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakers# ... eakers.JPG